The Hyuuga Cousins
by Ochibisama
Summary: Hinata must go to the Snow Country to marry her fiance and Neji is assigned to escort her ther as his mission. But during their long journey together, something may happen that can change Hinata's decision to marry, and result in shaming the Hyuuga name..
1. The Mission

Note: Hello all! This is my first fic so please review (and no flames please)!

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto, except for Kazahana Fuji.

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter OneThe Mission

I first saw him standing in the shadow.

"Hinata nee-chan," I tore my gaze away from him when I felt my sister, Hanabi, tugged on my coat, "Be careful."

I smiled softly at her, hoping that would be comforting enough. Slowly, painfully, she let go of my arm, and walked away. Something was telling me that she needed to get home as quickly as possible to cry herself out. Well, I would do the same if what was going to happen to me actually happened to her.

I would be going away from Konoha to marry my fiancé in the distant Snow country.

Even though I had always been the more obedient daughter, Hanabi was still shocked at my decision to obey Father's wish to marry Fuji, the distant cousin of the new Queen of Snow country.

For Father, my marriage to Kazahana Fuji would make the Hyuuga clan proud. But for me, it would be a chance to run away from my fate as the heir of the Hyuuga main family. My _only_ chance…

I approached the figure in the shadow, my hands clutching my coat tighter in an attempt to warm myself from Konoha's unusually chilly night air. I reminded myself that it would be much, much colder than this in the Snow country….the country where soon would be my home.

"Good evening, Neji nii-san," I greeted the figure who was still standing perfectly still in the darkness of the silhouettes of the Hyuuga estates main gate.

After a brief pause, he finally stepped out from the shadow and greeted me back, "Good evening, Hinata-sama. If you're ready, we shall leave immediately."

It bothered me at first when I found out that Neji would be the jounin who was assigned to escort me to the Snow country. Although it had been four years since the last time he had tried to kill me during our first Chuunin exam battle, the memory still traumatized me even in my sleep. I had to admit that I had always been…_afraid _of him.

"I-I understand," I mumbled as I followed him awkwardly.

In order to reach the Snow country, we must travel by ship, and since there wasn't any harbour in the hidden village of Konoha, we must first travel to Otofuku, the nearest village from Konoha which owns a port. It would take approximately three days to get to Otafuku, and adding the time it took for the ship to reach the port of Snow country as well as the time to reach the palace where Fuji resided with his cousin, Queen Koyuki, the total travel would take at least a month.

Yes, so, I would have to spend a month _alone_ with Neji nii-san in our journey.

I couldn't really blame Godaime for that. I knew that there wasn't enough jounin or chuunin left in Konoha to do missions during this period. And anyway, escorting me to the Snow country wasn't really a dangerous one. I should have felt lucky for getting Neji nii-san, the genius and talented jounin of his time, to protect me.

But then again, how was I going to endure one month with someone who scared the life out me? I mean, I knew that he wouldn't kill me, or injure me, for that matter…no, not _intentionally_…not anymore, but still, the past fear I had felt for him wouldn't cease that easily. Worse, the flashback of the Chuunin exam battle always played on my mind whenever I looked—always accidentally—at that eyes of his. That bluish-white eyes of his which seemed so similar but yet so different from mine. Similar in features but differ in ability. Of course, his surpassed mine greatly.

"Hinata-sama" his sudden mention of my name brought me out of my thoughts, "I'm afraid we must increase our speed in order to reach Otafuku in three days, or we will miss our ship."

"Ah, y-yes," I stuttered back as I quicken my pace, "I-I'm sorry."

Neji nii-san stared at me for a moment but I tried to look away, so I couldn't read his moonlit countenance on what he thought about my behavior. I gave a sigh of relief when he finally turned away and somehow found a strange comfort just looking at his back.

Neji nii-san is eighteen and had grown so much these past few years. He should be well over six foot, his chest was much broader, his voice was much deeper, and of course, his eyes were much sharper. It seemed the only thing that hadn't change was the length of his raven hair, which he also still tied in the same way.

_I'm just being stupid…there's no reason why I should be afraid of him. His mission is to protect me after all…he won't harm me. He won't._

But then why, I asked myself, did I still shiver whenever I felt his eyes on me or just by being with him?

I got the feeling that if I wanted to reach the Snow country safely, I had to find a way—no mater what it was—to be slightly comfortable around Neji nii-san.

At least just for a month.

After what seemed to be hours worth of running through the forest of Konoha, Neji nii-san at long last declared that it was time to rest. Dawn wouldn't arrive until a while later so he built a fire to keep ourselves warm. Through the dense forest top, there was only just enough moonlight shining through to help me see the surroundings.

Neji nii-san leaned against a tree near me, not too close and not too far away. Eternity seemed to have passed in silence between us although it had only been a few minutes. Struggling to think on what to say, I unconsciously played with my fingers again, a habit which I hated but couldn't seem to stop.

"Why do you do that?" his sudden question gave a jolt.

I looked anywhere except him. "Eh? Do-do…what?"

"Your hands…"

I could feel my face turning scarlet and quickly drop my hands to my sides. "No-nothing…just an old habit."

He didn't say anything anymore, so I cleared my throat and tried to start the conversation this time, reminding myself again and again that this was necessary so as to survive from boredom for this one month. "Um, Neji nii-san, thank you for escorting me to the Snow country."

He paused for a moment before answering in a bored tone. "You don't need to thank me. I do this as a mission."

My cheek turned a deeper color of burgundy. "Ah, yes, you're right…"

He was right. This was his mission. If it wasn't, he wouldn't even bother to _look_ at me, let alone protecting me.

But somehow, for reasons which I couldn't seem to comprehend, I felt a little bit…sad. Yes, the fact that he won't even care about me if he wasn't forced to made me feel disappointed. I mean, we were cousins after all, so why couldn't we have a normal relationship between cousins like anyone else? Even after he had tried to kill me, I wouldn't hold any grudges if he was willing to…

"So, you're going to marry a royal?"

It took a while for his question to sink in. "Ah! Y-yes…I guess you can say that."

"Your father would be so proud," he continued. I wasn't sure what his tone of voice was implying, "How do you get to meet him anyway? Snow country is very far away from Konoha."

It surprised me how he actually bothered to ask me about those matter, and I couldn't deny the fact that I was truly happy. So happy that I had forgotten I was supposed to be scared at him in the first place and actually looked up to see his face. It was only after my eyes met his that the realization struck me, and I quickly looked away again, just like a child caught with her hand in a cookie jar. But if Neji nii-san noticed my peculiar behavior, he chose to keep quiet about it.

"He came to Konoha a few months ago with his cousin, Queen Koyuki. She's a friend of Naruto-kun, if you must know," I mumbled, and couldn't help wondering if he even heard me, "Naruto-kun introduced me to her and Fuji-san. Before he went back home, he asked Father for me."

"So you marry him because you wanted to…I thought that your father forced you since I've never seen you together with Kazahana before," he said, almost with a sigh of relief, which made me surprised. I didn't know he care about me. At all.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't really…talked that much with Fuji-san. I was actually surprised when he proposed to me," I said softly, remembering the kind countenance of my future husband. "But yes, I _want_ to marry him."

I felt his eyes on me for a second before he spoke out, "But, do you think this is wise? Marrying someone you barely know…"

I looked up at him in surprise again, but this time, I didn't look away when our eyes met. I was _that_ surprised.

My mouth opened slightly to say something but nothing came out.

What can I say? _"Oh, yes, I don't want to marry him at all. I don't love him! But what can I do? This is my only chance to escape the Hyuuga family."_

Neji seemed to notice my growing discomfort on the issue, because he adjusted himself so that his back was facing mine and grew quiet, as if telling me that he wanted to sleep.

But I knew well enough that he couldn't. And neither could I.

Note: The Snow Country and Queen Koyuki are characters from Naruto the movie. But Kazahana Fuji is my own character (except that I borrow his last name from Koyuki since they're cousins anyway). For those who haven't watched the movie yet, Koyuki's father was the emperor of the Snow country but he was killed by his own brother who wanted to take over the reign. Koyuki was rescued by Kakashi (who was then an Anbu), and becomes an actress, playing as Fuun-hime (and later, Icha Icha Paradise ). In the movie, Naruto's mission is to protect her while she's shooting her next film in the Snow Country.


	2. The Attack

Note: Sorry, it takes me sooooo long to update the story. Mainly because I'm busy with part time job now, and I haven't been watching Naruto recently, so I don't have any inspiration to write. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks a bunch for those who have reviewed. You guys rocks!

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto.

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter TwoThe Attack

When dawn finally arrived, Neji nii-san decided that we should get moving again. And once more, I found myself trying desperately to catch up with him. Just like me, he didn't get a wink of sleep earlier, so why was he still so full of energy?

_Don't be stupid, Hinata! Of course he has a strong stamina. He's Neji nii-san after all. _

I could feel the sweat trickling down my cheeks, but I didn't bother to wipe them dry. My vision became dangerously blurry as the much-needed sleep that I had lost starting to drug me into slumber. I stopped abruptly, the exhaustion making my feet buckle weakly, and I was glad for the presence of a thick tree trunk nearby, where I could lean my body on.

We had only been running for a few hours, and I was already reaching my limit, all thanks to the lack of training I did recently (a wanna-be bride had many things to do in preparation so it seemed), or maybe simply because Neji nii-san was improving too fast for me to catch up to.

I rest my forehead onto the tree, ignoring the uncomfortably rough surface of the trunk.

Just a few minutes of rest then I will catch up to Neji nii-san…just a few more minutes…

But it seemed as if God really hated me today.

Only after a few seconds since I had stopped, a sudden, familiar rush of wind almost grazed my cheek and cut a few strands of my hair.

Instinctively, I jumped away to land on top of another tree branch, shocked by the shuriken that were just aimed at me. My fingers instantly traveled to my nin-gu bag to grab a kunai. I looked around desperately, a thousand questions bombarding my mind.

_Who had attacked me? For what purpose? _

I dodged away when I sensed more shuriken being thrown towards me, and at the same time aimed the kunai in my hand towards where the shuriken had come from.

_He isn't there!_

I heard a faint rushing sound behind me, and before I could react, a kunai had hit my right arm. Immediately, I performed the hand seals which most Hyuuga knew by heart.

_Byakugan!_

I catch the culprit—at least there was only one of them—running past the bushes just slightly to the west of my position. I grabbed two more kunai and threw them towards him. A thudding sound told me that I had hit the target, only to realize a few seconds later that the culprit had used Kawarimi no Jutsu.

I tried again, and my Byakugan showed me that the culprit was somewhere behind me this time. I threw some more shuriken and used Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu to double up the numbers.

"Agh!" he screamed.

Thank God I managed to hit him—whoever he was—this time.

But I guessed I had been extremely careless when suddenly, I felt some kunai jabbing my leg and arm, which caused me to topple to the ground.

_There was another person!_

I struggled to stand up and jump away when I suddenly felt strong hands grabbing my waist and flinging me over his shoulder. I yelped, thinking that the opponent had gotten me, and swung my arms and leg to hit him.

"Hey, calm down!" shushed a familiar voice, "It's me."

For the first time in my life, I had never been so glad to hear my cousin's voice.

"Neji nii-san…" I murmured as he ran, "There are at least two of them out here. I don't know who, or what exactly that they want, but—"

"I know," he interrupted, but not in an insulting way.

I watched him perform some hand seals (it was truly amazing to see that he could do that while carrying me at the same time), which I recognized.

_Genjutsu? He has found the location of the pursuer?_

My doubt was immediately wiped away when I heard a scream, which was definitely wasn't coming from Neji nii-san or me.

"That should be enough," he said as he turned around and continued to run as if nothing had happened.

Feeling somehow relieved that I was now by his side, I rested my head on his shoulder, sensing him tense a little at my action. Because I found it difficult to stay on while he jumped about from tree to tree so quickly (I kept bumping on his shoulder whenever he landed), I decided to shift my position so that I could put my arms around his neck to hold on. He stiffened again when I did that, but chose not to say anything.

To be honest, I didn't understand it myself. The old me would never even dare to stare at him in the eye, let alone putting my arms around his shoulder or resting my head at the crook of his neck like this. But I guessed, I now had enough trust in him to actually be more…_comfortable_ around him.

Isn't that good? This way, the long journey to the Snow Country will be more enjoyable…

I closed my eyes, my eyelashes brushing against his neck (making him squirm again), feeling suddenly drowsy. Maybe, it was because of the lack of sleep. Maybe it was because of how intoxicating was his smell (of clean, evergreen forest and fresh sweat) that had unexpectedly infused my senses. Maybe it was because of how comforting it felt to have his hand positioned firmly under my leg. Or maybe because I realized that he had run at a much faster speed.

We were supposed to reach Otafuku after three days, but I guessed, we would be there much sooner than that.

When night came, we had reached a small village called Shikuba, where Neji nii-san had decided to stay until the next morning. We went straight to rent a room at an affordable-looking hotel, but this was where the trouble starts.

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but we simply do not have enough rooms right now," smiled the kimono-clad manager of the hotel, "So, is it okay for you to share a room? Aren't you two siblings? So, that should be fine, right?"

I couldn't help blushing at her statement, although I couldn't really blame her for mistaking us as siblings. After all, we _are_ cousins, and these Hyuuga eyes of ours didn't help the matter either. But still, sharing a room was a bit too much.

"Well, Neji nii-san," I mumbled, "Maybe, we can check out the other hotels?"

"Oh, but you'll probably face the same problem, Miss!" convinced the manager, "Our village is always crowded during this season. You should be lucky to actually have a room to stay in!"

"But…" I started to argue, but was interrupted by the manager again.

"Oh, come on, what is there to be shy about?" said the manager, her smile as wide as banana, "It's perfectly fine for siblings to sleep in one room."

My face turned a deeper color of burgundy. "That's…that's not the point!"

I heard Neji nii-san sighed. "Very well. We'll take the room."

"Neji nii-san!"

He took the room key from the overly eager hotel manager, and caught me by surprise again when his arms went under my knee to carry me up. "Oh, be quiet! Healing your wound is the first priority. I don't want to waste time looking around for other hotels."

I was now blushing to the root of my hair. "I-I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me…"

But he didn't say anything anymore, meaning that I had to reluctantly drop the conversation. I should have known better than anyone else that it was useless to argue with Neji nii-san. I would never win. And anyway, I had never been good when it comes to arguing in the first place.

The room that we would be sleeping in was much smaller than I expected, with tatami covered floor, and a medium sized futon with blankets. By the side, a pair of the hotel yukata had been prepared. Besides a small, wooden table by the side of the windows and a small bathroom, there was nothing else.

"No wonder it's so cheap," Neji nii-san muttered as he dropped me gently onto the futon.

He proceeded to clean my wounds and apply some lotion. I was lucky that the wound wasn't so serious. Since my clothes were torn (and dirty and soaked with blood), I decided to change into the hotel yukata first, before changing to my other clothes the next morning.

When I left the bathroom, I saw Neji nii-san staring out of the windows and approached him to see what he was so interested in. It was quite late at night, but many people were still outside, enjoying themselves in what seemed to be a festival. No wonder the hotel manager said we were lucky to have found an empty room in her hotel.

"Neji nii-san," I said, feeling a bit uncertain whether I should say what I wanted to say next, "Do you want to go out and see the festival? It seems fun."

He looked up at me in surprise.

"I-I mean, my wounds aren't so serious, and I can still walk," I stuttered, "B-besides, we'll only be here for one night, so why not we enjoy it while it lasts?"

I could feel his intense gaze on me, and against my will, I had started to play with my fingers again.

"Is it because you're scared to be locked in the same room with me?" he asked suddenly, making my head popped up in surprise, and blood to blossom into my cheeks.

"N-no! It's not that!" I waved my hands nervously, "I'm not scared of you, Neji nii-san! I…"

He was quiet as he waited for me to continue.

I tried to gather all the confidence that I had, and raised my eyes so that I could look at him right in the eye.

I had something important to tell him. I must tell him this. I must. He had every right to know. Tell him. Tell him! Say it!

"Neji nii-san, I…trust you."

His clear, white eyes widened in shock.

Somehow, I felt the need to convinced him. "I'm not scared of you at all, Neji nii-san. Not right now. Not anymore. I know that you'll sacrifice your life to protect me until I reach the Snow Country."

This was the first time in a long, long time that I actually smile sincerely at him, as I repeated the magic words, "I trust you, Neji nii-san."

For I moment, an unreadable expression seemed to flash across his countenance, but he soon return back to his normal self—cold and quiet and unapproachable. At first, I thought he would pretend not to hear a single word I had said, and refused to go out to see the festival, so I was surprised—pleasantly surprised—when he came over and lifted me up from the tatami floor, whispering, "Whatever you say, Hinata-sama."

My face matched the color of molten lava again as I assured him to let me down as I could walk by myself.

In reply, he told me that he would let me down once we were outside the hotel, and I wondered if that was a smile I saw playing on his lips.

Note: I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the villages, Shikuba and Otafuku, that I use in this story is actually mentioned in the anime. Go and find it yourself!


	3. The Festival

Note: My God, thank you sooooo much for the reviews! Here's another chapie for you Hope you'll love it.

Ps. Btw, just so you know, I rated this story M because of what will happen in the later chapters (hehehe). But for the mean time, it's only PG.

* * *

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter Three The Festival

True as he said, he let me walk by myself once we were outside the hotel, although the moment I took a step forward, I began to regret asking him to let me down. A ribbon of pain shot up my leg whenever I moved, but even the little pride that I had kept me from complaining, and I tried my best to hide my face whenever I flinched.

The first booth in the festival that I visited was the takoyaki booth, and both Neji nii-san and I bought a packet, unable to hide our hunger any longer. Neji nii-san, being a boy that he was, finished his in seconds and moved on to grab a plate of okonomiyaki, two sticks of barbequed octopus, two sticks of barbequed corns, and another round of takoyaki.

I couldn't help laughing when I saw his eagerness to wolf down all those food. For that moment, Neji nii-san didn't seem to act like the Neji nii-san that I knew, always so calm and composed, and hiding his emotions all the time. Was the one I saw now the real Neji nii-san whom I had never known?

Somehow, I was glad I got to see this part of him.

I bought a bag of pink candyfloss, and wandered off to a booth selling toys which had caught my interest. The booth sold products that would definitely attracted the children's attentions. There were dolls, kites, marbles, and even fake Anbu masks. But what had attracted me the most was the toy rings.

I took one of the toy rings, the one with the tiny, fake diamond at the center of the ring, and slip it on thefourthfinger of my left hand.

I remembered when I was little, I loved to play as a bride with my friends, and during the game, I would wear a toy ring which the groom had pretended to give me. Who knows that soon enough, that silly, little game I had played in my childhood days would come true? In just a few months, my real husband to-be would slip a real diamond ring onto my finger.

I sighed as I tried to pull the toy ring off my finger, but it won't budge. I started to sweat in anxiousness as I felt the stallholder's eyes on me. I tried tugging the ring off again, but all I could manage was to pull it halfway up my finger.

_Ah well, this is a toy ring after all. The size is not suitable for adults._

I gave up and glanced at the price tag. Two hundred yen. I rummaged my wallet, and took out all the coins I had left. One hundred and fifty yen.

_Great, I was short of fifty yen. Why on earth didn't I bring more money with me? _

"May I help you?" asked the stallholder persuasively, and I felt a blush tinting my cheeks as I struggle to find a way to explain the embarrassing problem.

"Um…I—" I started to say, but someone else beat me to it.

"Here's two hundred yen," said a masculine voice from beside me, and I knew who that was even without turning around to see.

"Tha-thank you, Neji nii-san," I mumbled, feeling more embarrassed than ever as he led me to walk further into the heart of the festival, "I'll pay you back once we get back to the hotel."

He looked back to glance at me for a moment when he replied, "Don't bother. It's only two hundred yen, anyway."

I looked up at him in surprise. He was buying this ring for me?

I raised my left hand—the one with the toy ring—up to my lips, feeling surreal as incomprehensible and unexpected happiness seeped into the core of my heart, and touched the cold surface of the tiny diamond as I said again, "Thank you…Neji nii-san."

He didn't reply this time, so I wasn't sure if he had heard, but I was happy nonetheless.

Neji nii-san was walking in front of me at a much faster speed, given that his legs were much longer than mine, and like any other time, I found myself trying hard to keep up. I cursed myself for not daring to call his name and ask him to slow down.

_Or maybe_, the thought popped up from somewhere in my mind, _you're just afraid that he won't look back even after you've called him. _

In my attempt to keep up with him, I had accidentally knocked into somebody, who unfortunately decided to take the incident seriously.

"Watch where you're going!" the man snarled, his breath smelling heavily of sake and smoke, "Where's your eyes!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I apologized at the same as I tried not to lose sight of Neji nii-san. All I could see now was only that raven hair of his, bobbing up and down among the crowd of people.

"Look what you've done!" the man pointed at his stained yukata, "You've ruined my best yukata! You've got to pay for it, girly!"

Since when did I stain his yukata? Neither of us was holding any food with us. Was this man totally drunk or just simply trying to create trouble? And how dare he called me 'girly'!

The man suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Hard.

"Don't worry. I know an easy way in which you can pay me back for ruining my best yukata," his words were slurred, and I was getting scared of what he was going to say next, "All you need to do is just to have tea with me. That's all! Easy, isn't it? And it won't take long either. Let's go!"

I tried to push his arms away. "I'm sorry, but I've got to look for my…"

"You can do that later," he gave me that scary lecherous-old-man smile, but he blinked stupidly when he looked up at something—or someone—behind me, "Er, what do you say again just now? Are you looking for your husband?"

"No, I'm looking for my cou—" I stopped mid-sentence when I noticed who the man had been looking at.

Neji nii-san was glaring daggers at the drunken man, his Byakugan veins could be clearly seen, making his glare even more frightening than ever.

"Do you have a problem with her?" he growled, and I thought the drunken man's goose bumps stood up in fear.

"No-nothing…" he mumbled as he walked backwards (it was amusing to see him do this) much more faster than a man his age probably could walk.

But my trouble didn't just end like that. This was Neji nii-san that we were talking about. He wouldn't leave me alone without a good scolding.

"Why do you always get into trouble?" now was my turn to be glared at, "First is at that toy booth, now is with some drunken man. You'll never know what he could have done to you!"

_But I'm a shinobi too! I know how to protect myself when the time comes!_

That was what I wanted to say, but being who I was, I just simply couldn't. Instead, I bowed my head in guilt and apologized endlessly to him.

"Enough, enough!" he dug his ear as if my apologies had made him deaf, "Next time, be careful when you walk! Especially when you have injuries like that to begin with."

"I-I just can't keep up with you," I whispered, but instead of commenting that he had walked too quickly, I chose to say, "I walk much slower than you."

He gazed at me meaningfully. "If that's so, why didn't you tell me?"

I lowered my gaze so that I was staring at my feet, and didn't answer.

What was I supposed to say? "_Oh, I didn't tell you to slow down because I'm scared you won't. You've been never bothered with what I've got to say, anyway_"?

Brrrr…just the thought of actually saying those lines almost made me clap my hand to my mouth to keep it shut.

My heart sank even deeper than the Titanic did in Atlantic Ocean when I heard him sigh.

When would I stop disappointing him? It seemed that every little thing I did always able to make him sigh.

Before I knew it, I found myself starting to tremble, and my useless tears beginning to well up in my equally useless eyes, but then, these worthless eyes of mine also couldn't help bulging out when I felt his callused hand touching mine.

Neji nii-san's hand was bigger, stronger, firmer, warmer, and felt so unfamiliar in mine. But the fact that it was unmistakably _his _made me felt a sudden warmth in my stomach, like the first swallow of homemade vegetable soup.

Without a word, he turned around and continued to walk as if he had done nothing than merely leading a crying child to her mother. But I smiled anyway.

Neji nii-san…there are so many things about you that I don't know…that I wish to know, more than anything in the world. But today, I've at least discovered two great things about you: that you can even eat a cow when you're hungry, and—the other one which I love best so far—that you're a kind person.

I just hope that, by the end of this journey, not only me will succeed in finding out more about you, but also you knowing _me_ better.

My smile wiped away my tears as I gaze at our linked hands, which somehow looked like it was a seal of the promise of our much more beautiful future.


	4. The 360 Degree Attention

Note: Thank you as usual for your pretty, lil' reviews and here's a slightly longer chapie for you!

Ps. To Hokai Amplifier: you'll find out the answer to your question in future chapter. Hehehehe…

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter Four The 360 Degree Attention

It would take only a few hours to reach Otafuku from Shikuba, so Neji nii-san decided to take it easy by walking at a slower pace, considering that my wounds hadn't completely healed either. I was no doubt glad about his decision. Last night hadn't been any better than the previous one spent in the forest. No matter how tired I had been, I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. My eyelids might have closed, but my mind had simply refused to fall into slumber.

Why, you ask me? Oh, how could I sleep like a log when **_he_** was right there with me in that small, cramped room?

He might have gallantly let me have the futon, and slept in the corner against the wall instead, but still. He was _there_. His head was bowed and his arms were folded loosely. The sound of his regular breathing told me that he was asleep, and that made the lump of fear in my throat to recede somehow.

_He's asleep now. He won't do anything to me…_

I mentally slapped myself at the thought. I mean, even though I—at the age of seventeen—had never been so overly friendly with a member of the opposite sex before, and couldn't help admitting that sleeping in the same room with one had totally freaked me out to no end, he was still Neji nii-san, my _cousin_. He was the Neji nii-san who had no interest in anything else beside his missions or trainings! But even so, I couldn't help wondering if the thought of girls had ever crossed his mind before…

I rolled over—as quietly as I could—so that I could see his sleeping face. As I expected, he looked so different from the Neji that everyone thought they knew when he was sleeping. He looked much younger now, much happier…like he hadn't had a care in the world. It never ceased to amaze me how hard he tried to hide his real feelings from the world. Sometimes, when I saw him wear that Anbu mask of his, I got the feeling that he was hiding more than just his identity.

"Hinata-sama…" his husky voice brought me out of my trance, and I found myself averting my eyes from his again.

Ugh, what was I doing? I thought I had passed the stare-back-at-Neji-nii-san-straight-in-the-eye test already…Maybe it was the memory of me gazing at him sleeping last night, or him buying me the toy ring, or him holding my hand that made me lose my confidence again.

"Y-yes?" I asked as I stepped over the puddle carefully. It must have rained a little later last night.

"About those ninja who attack you in the forest…" he started, and I couldn't help gasping at his words.

Oh my word…how can I actually forget about it?

"Well, my guess is that we will encounter more of them during the rest of our journey," he continued as he looked at my expression closely, "You shouldn't e surprised about it."

I stared at him as if he had just landed from Mars. Shouldn't be _surprised_? Did he know that it wasn't everyday some ninja would attack me for no reason at all.

He must have read what I was thinking because he said, "What I mean is, as a Hyuuga—and as the heir, moreover—you'll constantly be targeted for that eyes of yours., especially now that you're out of the safety of Konoha Village."

"My eyes…?" I asked, not understanding one bit, "But Neji nii-san also have the same eyes, so how come they didn't target you too?"

"It's not like I'm not targeted. I've been out of Konoha for missions many times before this, and sometimes along the way, I'll be ambushed for this reason too," he sighed, turning his head back to the front again, "That's why I protested strongly against Godaime's decision to send just one jounin to escort you."

I gaped at his back, speechless.

"The problem is, you're weaker than me," Neji nii-san was as straightforward as ever, "So, that makes you an easier target."

Funny, but his words made me feel so terribly ashamed of myself. And I thought that I had given up of being a shinobi when I decided to get married.

Because I was distracted by my own thoughts, I hadn't notice that Neji nii-san had stopped walking, so I bumped into his back. He didn't give any reaction though, but merely continued speaking as I rubbed my hurt nose, "Hinata-sama…I will put my life on the line in order to protect you…"

Surprised, I looked up at him, wishing badly that he would turn around instead, so that I could see his expression as he said those words. "But even so, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to watch over you all the time. There are possible occasions where you have to depend on yourself."

And with that, he continued to walk ahead in silence again.

Neji nii-san's eyes are exactly the same as mine in feature, though in potential, his were definitely way better. I knew that fact very well. And as well as the fact that he had that famous three hundred and sixty degree vision. But even with that ability, he still won't be able to watch over me? No, I should say that he didn't _want_ to watch over me all the time. Well, why should he? I was nothing to him. I _meant_ nothing to him. He had many other more important things to do.

But if only…if only I could get that entire three hundred and sixty degree attention of his. Even if it was only for once, I would be more than happy…

I stopped dead in my track at that thought.

What in the world was I thinking? No way…I would never think that way. Not me. I mean, yes, I do care about Neji nii-san's and my relationship, but I didn't wish our relationship to be more than just as cousins. No, I had never! Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, NEVER! NOT EVER!

"Hinata-sama," I jumped about a foot and a half, and my face mirrored that of a baboon's backside when he called me, "We're reaching Otafuku."

_Oh, Hinata_, I thought as ran to catch up to him, _you're such a bad liar_. _Even for just a second, you **want** his full attention on you. Yes, even just for a mere second…his 360 degree attention…_

It really was a perfect fall day in Otafuku; crisp but not bitter cold. Glittering slate-green ocean in every direction as far as the eye could see. A dramatic patchwork of slivery gray clouds and brilliant blue sky could be seen overhead, and I could smell the bracing freshness of the salt air.

We reached the port four hours too early, so to fill up the time, Neji nii-san and I went to eat our lunch first, and shop for more food (instant cup noodles, and some snacks) to eat onboard the ship. But in the middle of the shopping, I bumped into someone who claimed to be one of the crew of our ship, and he was surprised that I didn't know our ship's departure time was rescheduled to one hour earlier. I thanked him thoroughly, and he pointed to me the ship going to the Snow Country.

"Thank you so much!" I bowed to him gratefully.

He returned me a crooked grin. "No sweat. Well, hurry up and get on board the ship now before we leave you."

I went to look for Neji nii-san (who I found in a ningu store, stocking up on his weapon) to tell him the news. He appeared to be very surprised, and…suspicious, but he followed me all the same. The ship was surprisingly quite crowded. I had never expected that many people to visit the Snow Country since as far I knew, that distant and isolated (ah, and it snowed all the time there no matter what was the season) country wasn't exactly a desirable place to go to for holidays or any other business, for that matter.

Neji nii-san and I went to look for our rooms, which were luckily first class so they were kind of fancy (it was Fuji-san's way of apologizing for not being able to fetch me from Konoha). There was a small living room (with a television and a couch), a bedroom (with a closet, and a bed, or course), a bathroom (with Jacuzzi!), and a verandah outside the sliding glass doors.

I dumped my bag onto the couch and stepped out into the verandah to sea the sea below me. Wow, I was beginning to think that the journey on board this ship was going to be fun. I hadn't even married yet, but it felt as if I was already going for honeymoon. I had to thank Fuji-san the instant I reached Snow Country for giving me this opportunity.

_See_, I convinced myself, _marrying Fuji-san and coming all the way to the Snow Country **is** the right thing to do. _

I heard the sound of the glass door sliding open and turned to see Neji nii-san coming out of his own room, which is exactly beside me. The sea breeze blew on his long, raven hair, and the sunlight glinted on his Konoha head protector. Just like me, he gazed over the shimmering sea water below us, his expression softening slightly at the nature's beauty.

He glanced over to me when he realized me staring at him, making me feel strangely warm despite the wind blowing on me.

"Ah, I…" I desperately tried to find excuses that would distract his attention, "I'll go look outside!" And I rushed out, almost kicking myself for being so nervous over nothing and coming out with the lamest excuse possible.

I managed to calm myself down once I reached the deck, but the calmness disappeared as soon as it came when I heard the conversation of a family who were gazing at the sea near me.

"Mom," said a little boy with Hidden Sand head protector, "When are we going to reach the Hidden Sand Village?"

"It takes two weeks to reach the Sand Country from here," she tugged on his hand, "Come! Let's go and find some food to eat."

Their words left me feeling as if I had head-butted a brick wall. Sand Country? What were they talking about? Wasn't this ship heading to the Snow Country only?

"Ah, hang on!" I called out to the mother and son, who looked at me with bewilderment clearly shown in their identical eyes, "I'm sorry, but can I ask you where this ship is heading?"

The mother stared at me incredulously. "Why? The Sand Country, of course."

I tried not to panic. "Um, do you know if this ship stops at any other places before reaching the Sand Country?"

The mother rubbed her chin. "I'm not so sure about that, but I don't think so. Where are you heading?"

"The Snow Country…" I mumbled, feeling like the world had come to an end.

"The Snow Country?" the mother gasped, "The final destination of this ship is the Sand Country, and the Snow Country is much further away!"

I didn't say anything—couldn't say anything.

"Well, if you've really gotten to the wrong ship, the only solution to your problem is to change ship once you reach the Sand Country," said the woman sympathetically before she left with her son tailing behind her.

Change ship? But, ships heading to Snow Country were very rare to find! How long would it take before I finally reach there? And would I even still be alive by then?

I dragged myself up to Neji nii-san's room to tell him what I had heard, and his reaction was something that I had expected.

"Oh well, I knew that this will happen," he said matter-of-factly as he shrugged, "That rescheduling of departure time sounds fishy in the first place, but it just shows that those ninja targeting you are pretty stubborn…and that they actually come from the Sand Hidden Village. "

"Why didn't you say anything then?" I mumbled, feeling more awful than ever, "If you've said that I had actually been tricked, we might be able to take the right ship."

Neji nii-san looked so surprised that if he had been a parrot, he would have slipped off his perch. "You mean, you'll actually believe me if I said that you've been tricked?"

His comment left me feeling as if I had been thunderstruck. Why was he saying this now? Hadn't I tell him before that I trusted him? Was that not good enough to convince him? What else was I supposed to say then?

He must have realized what I had been thinking (again!) because he whispered, "Hinata-sama, even until now, I see no reason why you should trust me. Doesn't the memory of that Chuunin Exam ever come to your mind whenever you see me?"

I lowered my eyes as I swallowed back the ever-present guilt.

He was right…the memory did come to my mind when I saw him. But…but that hadn't happened recently! I wasn't so scared of him now. I was beginning to trust him! Oh, why couldn't he understand that?

"Hinata-sama," his voice was so stern that it made cringe, "You do remember that I've almost killed you before, don't you? For all you know, I may kill you now."

I raised my eyes at him, feeling shocked, but mostly, _hurt_. What was he trying to say? Wasn't it just a while ago when he told me that he would put his life on the line to _protect_ me? So, why was he saying that he would kill me _now_?

No, no! Don't think about it, Hinata! Think about last night instead. Think about the festival! Think about the toy ring!

"No, Neji nii-san…" I murmured as I fingered the cold surface of the fake diamond on the toy ring, "You would never kill me."

I saw him frowning at me, but I tried hard to continue. "At least, not on this mission. I know you'll never come back home with a failed mission."

He smiled coldly. "But that doesn't mean that I won't kill you. As soon as this mission is over…"

"But why would you want to kill me?" I shouted in frustration, "What's the point of killing me now? I'm not the successor of the Hyuuga clan anymore! I don't care about the Hyuugas anymore! Do you really hate me so much? Why are—" I gasped and clapped my mouth shut before I could finish the sentence—before I really got killed by him for shouting in his face.

Oh God, what had happened to me? It wasn't like me at all for shouting like this. And to Neji nii-san, of all people!

"I don't understand you…"I could feel it…I could feel his three hundred and sixty degree of attention on me, "No matter how naïve you are, how can you possibly trust someone who almost killed you? Don't tell me that it's because I'm your cousin! Because I know that you've never thought of me as one before—and you never will."

Neji nii-san really was a scary person. He was piercing through my most painful spot.

Like I was in the middle of sleepwalking, I went over to sit on the couch beside him, and rest my head on his shoulder, feeling them tensed slightly before relaxing after he finally realized that I wouldn't go anytime soon.

He might think that I was crazy, but I didn't care. I was too tired now to care. Maybe I would start worrying about my problems again only after I had taken a nap. Yeah, that would be nice…

"I don't understand it myself, Neji nii-san," I whispered, closing my eyes "I don't understand it myself."

His three hundred and sixty degree of attention that I wanted so badly was all mine now. But I had never expected it to feel this painful.


	5. The Accident

Note: Hullo, everyone! This chapter is slightly shorter, so I finish it faster for you to read. There isn't much going on this chapter; it's almost like an extra. But are you still kind enough to leave me pretty, little reviews?

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter Five The 'Accident'

_Everything was hazy…so hazy that all I could see was myself gripping on Father's kimono. It felt as if we had been standing in that same spot for eternity, waiting for someone else. I didn't know who, but I didn't dare to ask either. But suddenly, a figure appeared from the haze—no, there were two of them. A big one and a small one. When they came closer, my grip on Father's kimono tightened. _

"_Hinata-sama is three years old now," said my uncle, Hizashi._

"_Yes," replied Father coldly._

_I sensed someone staring at me so I glanced at the little boy standing beside my uncle. His smile made me feels shyer than ever, and I moved to hide behind Father. I allowed a few seconds to pass before I dare to steal a glance at the boy again. He was talking to my uncle now—his father, but I couldn't catch what he was saying at all. That _boy_ was none other than my cousin, Neji. He was a year older and my one and only cousin so far, but this was the first time I saw him._

_The haze had suddenly gotten thicker, and when it finally cleared up, I found myself in the Hyuuga compound garden._

"_Chichi-ue…" I called out as I looked around to find him, "Chichi-ue, where are you?"_

"_Hinata-sama," I turned around to find my cousin smiling good-naturedly at me. He reached out and grab a hold of my hand, "Hiashi-sama is there. I'll take you to him."_

_Before I could say anything else, he tugged on my hand and led me out of the garden. We ran past the compound's gate, out into a seemingly endless road. We ran and ran and ran until I couldn't take it anymore and pulled my hand away from his._

"_Neji nii-san…" I panted, "Where are you taking me?"_

_He didn't say anything; his back was facing me._

"_Neji nii-san…" I reached out tentatively to touch his shoulder, but before I could do that, he swiveled around so quickly that he hit my hand. Hard._

"_Aw!" I rubbed and blew on my poor hand, but I completely forgot about the pain when my eyes caught the sight of Neji nii-san._

_He wasn't the four-year-old Neji nii-san that had offered to take me to Father anymore. The Neji nii-san standing in front of me now wore the Konoha head protector and jounin uniform. The softness in his clear eyes had hardened into a glare as he looked at me._

"_Hinata-sama," he activated is Byakugan, looking more intimidating than ever as he charged at me, "I'll kill you!"_

_No!_

I woke up with a start, panting and sweating all over.

Another nightmare? I didn't know if I had to thank God that everything was just a nightmare. For all I knew, if I could choose, I didn't want to have these nightmares haunting my sleep in the first place.

I got up of bed and head towards the bathroom. A long, warm bubble bath after a nightmare sounded good. It was only after I had taken off my clothes and slipped into the inviting warm water that I realized something was wrong.

If my memory wasn't wrong, I had fallen asleep on Neji nii-san's shoulder, so why did I wake up to find myself sleeping on a bed in my room instead?

_Oh, don't be stupid_, I scolded myself when another realization dawned on me, _Neji nii-san must have carried me to my room_.

After I was satisfied with the bath, I wrapped a towel (that was already provided) around my body, and went over to the closet to find warm clothing to wear, but as my palm rested on the closet doorknob, I remembered that I hadn't unpacked yet. I had left my bag in the living room couch.

I went to open the bedroom door instead, leaving a wet trail behind me. Imagine my horror when what I found sitting on the living room couch was not my bag. No, not at all. Far from it.

Neji nii-san stared back at me with incredulously wide, clear eyes. I must have interrupted his dinner, since his chopsticks hanged in mid-air, and he was in the middle of slurping his instant cup noodles. He swallowed his noodles as I gulped in nervousness, finding myself at a loss of what to do.

For a moment—a long, long one—all we did was stare at each other; me still rather wet, and wrapped in that tiny, white towel, and him still holding the chopsticks in his right hand and the cup noodles in the other. Only the sound of the clock's moving hand, and maybe, the beating of my heart, sounded in the room.

For the briefest moment, I thought I saw his eyes travel down my body and up again to my face, but I guessed it was just my imagination (Neji nii-san would never look at me _that_ way). Nonetheless, I was blushing all over now, and the sound of my heartbeat was deafening.

"Um…" Neji nii-san cleared his throat, breaking the ice between us, "This is my room."

My hand went to secure the towel, feeling rather confused. "Huh?"

He cleared his throat again. "I didn't want to wake you up, so I let you sleep on my bed instead of taking you back all the way to you room. I didn't know where you put your key, anyway."

"Oh…" My embarrassment had now reached its peak.

"Er, I can help you take your spare clothes if you want," he offered uneasily.

"No, that's okay," I turned around and rushed back into the bedroom, "I-I'll wear my old ones."

My body grew numb when I shut the door and slid to the floor against it, trembling at the memory of me being almost…_naked_ in front of him.

Oh, no. What had I done? Why didn't I notice that this was his room? Hey, but that wasn't entirely my fault! All the rooms had similar designs. He must have understood why I could make this mistake. Right?

I got up and make my way to the bathroom again to find my clothes. Oh gawd, they were kind of wet now (since I had left them carelessly on the floor earlier), but I had no other choice but to wear them. I went over to open the closet door next. Just as I thought, Neji nii-san's clothes were neatly stacked inside. If only I had opened this closet earlier, it might save me from the embarrassment.

When I went out of the bedroom again, with my clothes on this time, Neji nii-san was leaning against the sofa with his arms folded at the back of his head, watching the television. He glanced at me when he noticed my presence in the room.

"How many towels are there in the bathroom?" he asked, to my surprise.

"Huh? Um, only one."

He sighed and mumbled something rather to himself. "So, I'll have to use a wet towel later."

My face flushed as I apologized frantically. "Ah, I'm so sorry, Neji nii-san! You can use my towel if you want. It's not like I'm going to use it anymore."

"That's okay," he replied as he returned his attention back to the TV and went back to his silent mode, making me feel unsure on what I was supposed to do next.

"I'm sorry, Neji nii-san…" I apologized again, my eyes catching a glimpse of his unfinished cup noodles, "I didn't mean to barge on you like that."

"I know," he said rather hoarsely, "Don't worry. I didn't get to see much."

My cheeks flooded with crimson, and I didn't know what else to say so I decided to just leave. I opened the door and hesitated for a while before I turned my head back, the red on my cheeks spreading to my face and neck when I found him staring at me. But as soon as our eyes met, white clashing with identical white, he had turned his head back to the television, as if he couldn't have cared less.

"Neji nii-san…may I come back later?" I asked, trembling slightly at the anticipation of his answer.

He didn't say anything.

I sighed as I moved to close the door behind me, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard him say at the last moment, "Whatever you say, Hinata-sama."

I smiled. That was exactly what he said back when I asked him to go to the festival in Shikuba.

As soon as the door was closed, my knees buckled and would have given out beneath me if I hadn't held on to the door for support.


	6. The Mistake

I'm back! After a long break from my stupid computer (which is so useless it hangs all the time), I'm finally back! Thanks for your pretty reviews, everyone . I promise to write, er, more regularly (well, if I'm not busy with school and all). Anyway, here's another chapter (not so good, actually). Btw, you must have noticed that I changed the rating? Well, I guess since the you-know-what won't start anytime soon (how can it? You know from the way Neji treats Hinata that they must get closer and care for each other first before other _things_ happens). Ah well, enough babbling and see you in chapter seven!

* * *

**The Hyuuga Cousins**

Chapter Six The Mistake

We had been onboard the ship, The White Sands, for a completeweek now. If the ship would reach the Sand Country in time (the weather hadn't been at all good. It was amazing how the White Sands could stay afloat amidst all those thunderstorms), there was only another weekmore to go. In the meantime, my relationship with Neji nii-san hadn't been any better than the weather either. That little incident in which I came barging into him clad only in a towel seemed to irritate him greatly. For one thing, he wouldn't go any closer than two meters from me. And for another, he wouldn't look at me if not highly necessary. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was acting exactly like how _I_ used to act around him (well, all right, I still DO act that way around him, but still). But even so, he still refused to let me go anywhere without him tagging along.

"Because it's _my_ duty to protect you…" was what he would mumbled whenever I tried to convince him that I could go to the dining room to get some hot water for my cup noodles perfectly by myself.

"Really, Neji nii-san," I would tried again and again as politely as I could, "It won't take more than five minutes. Just let go alone, okay?"

But of course he wouldn't, and God knew how easily I could argue with him Haha. As if.

So, as usual, I found myself walking towards the normally crowded dining room with Naji nii-san two meters behind me. When we got there though, a familiar face greeted me.

"Ah, it's you again, Missy!"

"Good afternoon, ma'am," I replied politely to the lady froma weekago who had delivered me the nightmare of being stuck in the wrong ship for two weeks, "Are you having your lunch?"

"Oh no, I've finished mine actually. Just bringing some up for Yoichi—my son," she smiled before turning her beetle black eyes at Neji nii-san, who was staring at her suspiciously from behind me, "Your, er, brother?"

"Huh? Er, no, he's my, um, cousin," I stammered as I heard Neji nii-san clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"Oh," the lady said, with both of her eyebrows rose, "Well, see you then."

I let out a silent sigh of relief when she finally sauntered off. I quickly filled up my cup noodle with hot water, and rushed back to Neji nii-san's side, who was looking at me strangely now.

"Um, well, just now was, um…" I started but couldn't seem to continue. Instead, I was tongue tied again, my face bypassing red and turning maroon.

He didn't say anything but merely whipped around, with me hastily walking up behind him and trying not to spill the hot water at the same time. When we reached my room, he stopped so suddenly that I knocked into him, making the cup noodle flew into the air.

"Aah!" I cried out when I felt the hot water stinging my hands, silently thanking God that it didn't touch my face, "Neji nii-san, I'm so sorry—eh?"

Looking like he was in a mad rush, he came over to me and carried me gingerly towards my room, kicking open the door. He rushed over to the bathroom, and showered my hands with cold water. I tried to stifle my scream (it stings!) by biting my lips, which actually worsened the condition, and my lips started to bleed.

"What are you doing!" shouted Neji nii-san in frustration, making me cringed in fear and humility at my own foolishness.

He snatched a towel—my towel, this time—from the hanger, and draped them carefully around my hands, before carrying me again towards the bedroom, and laying me slowly onto the bed. He went away the instant he put me down, only to come back a few seconds later with a small towel clutched in his hand. The bed springs creaked as he settled on it beside me, and bent over me to dab my bleeding lower lip with the towel. When he was finished, the glare that I had been anticipating in dread came back onto his young, masculine face.

"Do you see what I mean now?" he said coldly, "If I'm not here beside you, who knows what will happen to you?"

I chose not to say that the reason why I almost died of being scalded by hot water was all his fault for stopping suddenly.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered as I looked up at him, moving my hand unconsciously and received a stabbing pain I return, "Ow!"

"Hey, watch it!" He grabbed a hold of my right hand—in a gentle way—and started blowing it. This action of his, of course, made me blush. I had never expected him to go so far to doing _this_. I guess, getting your hand scalded with hot water once in a while didn't seem that bad.

Unfortunately, he stopped blowing my hand (an action which somehow gave me many overwhelming yet incomprehensible emotions) when he caught a glimpse of my expression.

_Oh no, did I look stupid or something_, I thought worriedly, _my face must have resembled a baboon's backside! Oh, why am I cursed with the ability to blush so easily?_

Unlike mine, his expression was unreadable as his eyes fell upon my now swollen lips. "Do you know why she thought that I'm your…brother?" he asked, slightly above whisper that I must strained my ears to hear him.

"No…" I said, kind of whispery too, and without thinking. He had brought my hand near his lips now, and I could feel his warm breaths against the cold skin.

"You don't know? You really don't know?" he asked again, and I gulped, feeling his long, raven hair touching my neck as he bent lower and lower over me.

"Neji nii-san…"

"That's because we look alike," now his warm breaths were blowing against my lips instead of my hand, and I confessed that I had to restrain myself from jumping about a foot and a half into the air in shock, "Remember that night in that town with the festival? The owner of the inn thought that I'm your brother too."

"Yes…" was all I could manage to let out.

"Well, of course we look alike," I could see myself clearly in his famous Hyuuga eyes, "Our fathers are twins, after all, aren't they? That basically makes us brother and sister."

Hey, wait, I'd never thought of that!

"Brother and sister?" I asked breathlessly, feeling relieved and disappointed at the same time when he moved away.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be—or act—as your brother, though," he stood up, his back facing me, "Just rest for a while. Your hands will be okay."

"Neji nii-san!" I called out desperately when I noticed him leaving the room. He stopped abruptly, but didn't turn around to face me. I gazed at his back, feeling rather strange of the emotions that overcome me. A few days ago, I would give anything so as not to meet his eyes, but at this moment, I wanted nothing else but to see him. To see him looking back at me.

_Turn around…_

"Neji nii-san, I want to know…" I tried to ignore my mind that scream out in protest of my action, "I want to know why you hate me so much!"

_Turn around and look at me…_

"It's not just because of Otou-sama isn't it?" I prayed that the tears wouldn't spill out—no, not yet, "There must be something else, right? What is it about me that annoys you?"

_Turn around and give me your attention…_

"Neji nii-san!"

_Just for a second, please turn around…_

"I…"he murmured softly as my tears threatened to spill, "don't…hate you, you know."

I couldn't say anything in reply. My mouth was too busy gaping at him.

"I have never hated you, Hinata…" came the gentle murmur again, as if in confirmation of its earlier statement, "Never…in my whole life…"

"You're lying…" I mumbled, feeling dazed, "Or this is just a dream…"

"Maybe…" he finally turned around, and slowly rested his palm on my forehead. It felt warm against my skin, just like how his breaths had been.

"Go on and sleep now," his voice was close to my ears, "I'll be watching over you."

_He would be watching over me? _

Oh, this was a dream, all right. Because… the real Neji nii-san wouldn't have felt so warm as he lay close beside me. Because the real Neji nii-san's lips wouldn't have felt so soft against the wounded skin of my hands. Because the real Neji nii-san wouldn't have ignored the formality and called me 'Hinata'…


End file.
